SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil soccer extended its kit deal with Nike by 12 years to 2038 on Friday. A source told The Associated Press the agreement was worth $100 million per year, plus royalties on the sale of national team shirts which were not included in previous contracts. The source spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorised to discuss the agreement with media. For the first time, the Brazilian Football Confederation will also be allowed to license products and open stores worldwide. “This contract shows the strength of Brazilian soccer,” CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues said. “This is one of the longest and most successful partnerships in soccer and, together, we will keep celebrating the brilliance of Brazilian soccer and honor the jogo bonito legacy.” Brazil and Nike first paired up in 1996, and their latest contract wasn’t going to expire until 2026. Nike vice president for Latin America, Doug Bowles, said the deal “strengthens our old commitment with Brazilian soccer.” Nike kits are worn by Brazil’s men’s and women’s teams of all ages, plus by the beach soccer and futsal teams. RELATED COVERAGE Woltemade’s second half brace leads Stuttgart comeback to beat Union Berlin Atalanta tops Serie A after late win over AC Milan while Inter goes 13 games unbeaten Foden and Ake to miss Man City’s game at Crystal Palace In March, Nike signed a deal with the German soccer federation to replace adidas as the provider of apparel and equipment for its national teams from 2027 to 2034. The agreement was reportedly worth about 100 million euros ($108 million). Germany’s relationship with adidas goes back some 70 years and appeared unshakeable. Other national teams sponsored by Nike include Australia, Croatia, England, France, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerWashington’s roster got a whole lot younger on Wednesday. The Huskies signed 29 commitments for the 2025 season during the first day of the early signing period. Coach Jedd Fisch currently has 62 scholarships committed to players who are sophomores by eligibility or younger. Fisch and the Huskies can add some experience to their roster starting on Monday, when the transfer portal opens. Washington will also have more attrition of its own because the Huskies are above the self-imposed 85-scholarship limit Fisch announced on Wednesday. Here are five position groups the Huskies might target in the transfer portal starting on Monday. No. 1 — Defensive tackle This probably has to be Washington’s top priority in the transfer portal. The Huskies lose their top-two defensive tackles — Sebastian Valdez and Jacob Bandes — after the bowl game, leaving them with a young, unproven group at the position. Logan Sagapolu played offensive line for the first four years of his college career. Jayvon and Armon Parker are coming off season-ending injuries. Bryce Butler, a junior college addition this season, played in three games because of injuries and redshirted to preserve a year of eligibility. Elinneus Davis had 14 tackles, two tackles for a loss, a sack and a pass breakup, and finished his first season as a contributor ranked third in snaps among defensive tackles according to Pro Football Focus. UW also has 6-foot-3, 296-pound Omar Khan who redshirted as a true freshman in 2024. The Huskies signed 315-pound Dominic Macon and 260-pound Caleb Smith in their 2025 recruiting class but they will likely need to redshirt in 2025. Fisch heavily implied Washington will hunt the portal for more defensive linemen while speaking during his signing day news conference on Wednesday. “In the transfer portal, in terms of defensive linemen, you have to be able to take the older players.” No. 2 — Linebacker Washington signed three linebackers as part of its 2025 recruiting class, including local four-star prospects Zaydrius Rainey-Sale and Jonathan Epperson Jr. But after losing captains Alphonzo Tuputala and Carson Bruener and standout special teamer Drew Fowler, it makes sense to add another linebacker with more experience to the room. Anthony Ward, a former walk-on who Fisch gave a scholarship to at Arizona, is the oldest player in the group. Khmori House, however, is the most experienced. The Southern Californian played in all 12 games as a true freshman in 2024, racking up 35 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. He's a presumed starter for 2025 and Fisch has repeatedly called House the future of the defense. Deven Bryant and Hayden Moore, who will both be third-year sophomores in 2025, saw limited action this season. Bryant had a prolific high school careers at St. John Bosco High School, where he played with House, but has been hampered by injuries since arriving at UW in 2023. Moore was a Michigan transfer who appeared primarily on special teams in 2024. No. 3 — Safety Similar to linebacker, Washington loses captain Kamren Fabiculanan, who led UW’s defense with 736 snaps this season. Cameron Broussard also departs, along with veteran special teamer Justin Harrington. Makell Esteen still has eligibility, and the Huskies have a young group of second-year safeties in Peyton Waters, Paul Mencke Jr., Rahshawn Clark and Rahim Wright II. Waters burned his redshirt in 2024, mainly as a special teamer, and will be a sophomore in 2025 while Mencke, Clark and Wright will all be redshirt freshmen. Clark was a cornerback at Garfield High School but is listed as a safety on UW’s roster. The Huskies also signed four-star freshman Rylon Dillard-Allen on Wednesday. Between Esteen and the second-year safeties, however, there isn’t much depth. Fisch has been high on Vincent Holmes, a third-year sophomore in 2025, despite the Bay Area native’s special teams gaffe against Rutgers. Holmes was UW’s third safety during games when Esteen or Broussard were unavailable because of injury. Sumner native Tristan Dunn is the final safety on the roster, playing almost exclusively on special teams in 2024. He’ll be entering his fourth season in the program in 2025. Bringing in a veteran safety to pair primarily with Esteen makes some sense, especially because defensive coordinator Steve Belichick likes to use three-safety looks. No. 4 — Offensive line Washington’s offensive line issues were apparent all season, yet Fisch has been adamant that the Huskies will build their new offensive line through high school recruiting. UW signed six offensive linemen as part of their 2025 recruiting class: Champ Taulealea, John Mills, Jake Flores, Peter Langi, Jack Shaffer and Lowen Colman-Brusa. The Huskies currently have 18 offensive linemen on scholarship, assuming no attrition. Offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll, who also coaches the offensive line, has previously said he’d like to have around 16 scholarship linemen on the roster. But on Friday, Arizona left guard Wendell Moe Jr. announced he intends to enter the transfer portal. The third-year sophomore started 13 games for Fisch and Carroll at left guard in 2023, then maintained his spot after staying with the Wildcats in 2024. PFF graded the 6-2, 339-pound Moe as Arizona’s best pass-blocking lineman who played at least three games. He didn’t allow a single sack in 491 pass-blocking snaps in 2024. No. 5 — Wide receiver Washington signed five wide receivers for its 2025 class, but the Huskies will lose Giles Jackson and Jeremiah Hunter — who combined for 107 catches and 1,144 receiving yards — after the bowl game. Additionally Denzel Boston is eligible for the NFL draft after finishing his third season of college football in 2024. The rest of UW’s receiver group has limited experience. Rashid Williams and Keith Reynolds, both third-year sophomores in 2025, were rotational players during the past season. Williams had 10 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown, while Reynolds was UW’s primary kick returner and scored his first touchdown on a rush against USC. Audric Harris burned his redshirt as a true freshman, making one catch for seven yards while appearing in seven games. UW also has Kevin Green Jr., an Arizona transfer who will be a fourth-year junior but missed the entire 2024 campaign with an injury. Green had eight catches for 97 yards with the Wildcats in 2023. The seven other receivers on the roster — five true freshmen and second-year receivers Jason Robinson Jr. and Justice Williams — have never played a college snap. If Washington doesn't add a veteran receiver, they’ll be counting on Green, Williams and Reynolds to really step up alongside Boston.
Investing in growth stocks can be a great strategy for building up your portfolio. But picking the best ones to buy is not necessarily easy. It wasn't all that long ago that metaverse stocks were all the hype on Wall Street. Nowadays, it's artificial intelligence stocks that people are rushing out to buy. There are also GLP-1 weight loss stocks, which have enormous potential in the long run. It's easy to get overwhelmed trying to pick the right growth stocks and the right mix of them for your portfolio. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) , however, essentially take care of that for you -- buying a share of one means you're investing in all the stocks the fund owns. It's just a matter of picking the fund that's most suitable for your investment goals and strategy. If you're buying and holding for the long term with the ultimate goal of retiring with $1 million, a good option to consider is the Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares ( VOOG -0.07% ) . This ETF tracks growth companies in the S&P 500 What's attractive about the fund is that it focuses on growth stocks within the S&P 500 . That means you're getting exposure to blue chip stocks that have the potential to achieve significant long-term growth. Apple , Nvidia , and Microsoft are the top three stocks in the fund and account for a little over 35% of its overall weight. Top weight loss and GLP-1 drugmaker Eli Lilly is also among the fund's top 10 holdings. But the fund is tech-heavy, with that sector making up roughly half of its overall portfolio. The fund has a low expense ratio of 0.1%, making it an attractive option for long-term investors, as fees won't take a big chunk out of your overall returns. Over the past 10 years, the ETF has outperformed the S&P 500, with total returns (which include dividends) of around 300%, which averages out to a compounded annual growth rate of 14.9%. ^SPX data by YCharts. How much would you need to invest to get to $1 million with the ETF? While this fund has generated impressive annual returns of around 15% per year on average for the past decade, it may be a bit optimistic to expect these high returns to continue for the years ahead. Given the market's strong returns over the past few years, it may be a good idea to be conservative and project out a much lower rate of return in the long run. Assuming just an 8% growth rate for the long term, here's how much investments ranging from $25,000 to $75,000 could be worth in the future. Investment 30 Years 35 Years $25,000 $251,566 $369,634 $30,000 $301,880 $443,560 $35,000 $352,193 $517,487 $40,000 $402,506 $591,414 $45,000 $452,820 $665,340 $50,000 $503,133 $739,267 $55,000 $553,446 $813,194 $60,000 $603,759 $887,121 $65,000 $654,073 $961,047 $70,000 $704,386 $1,034,974 $75,000 $754,699 $1,108,901 Calculations by author. Given the expected returns, you would need to invest at least $70,000 today and hang on for a period of 35 years to expect it to grow to $1 million. But these are also conservative estimates. The good news is that if the ETF performs better, even slightly, it can make a big difference. At a 9% annual return, for instance, a $50,000 investment would be sufficient to grow to $1 million over 35 years. Returns may vary, but the strategy remains the same There's no crystal ball that can definitively tell you what kind of return you will end up generating over such a long timeframe, whether you're investing in the Vanguard fund or the S&P 500. But one thing is definitely clear: Buying and holding, and putting your money into a growth-oriented fund, can significantly grow your portfolio's balance in the long run. If you can afford to do so, it can be a no-brainer decision.
Mistakes by once all-powerful Michael Madigan exposed at trial
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Celta Vigo gave 10-man Barcelona a shock by scoring two late goals and snatching a 2-2 draw at home in the Spanish league on Saturday. Barcelona was minutes away from a win to pad its league lead after Raphinha and Lewandowski had put Barcelona ahead. But the game dramatically swung after Barcelona defensive midfielder Marc Casadó was sent off with a second booking in the 81st. Moments later Jules Koundé’s poor control of a ball in his area allowed Alfon González to pick his pocket and give the hosts hope in the 84th minute. Celta poured forward at Balaidos Stadium and Hugo Álvarez rifled in the 86th-minute equalizer with Barcelona unable to mark the extra man. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick, however, said that he saw it coming since his team had never been able to establish its passing game and was making mistakes even when up 2-0. “It was not only the 10 last minutes, it was the whole match. We played today a really bad game,” Flick said. “The passing game for us was bad. We made a lot of mistakes and at the end we had no confidence with the ball.” This was Barcelona's second straight stumble since Lamine Yamal was sidelined with a right-ankle injury. Barcelona lost 1-0 at Real Sociedad without Yamal before the international break. Barcelona is seven points ahead of third-place Real Madrid, which has played two fewer games. Koundé accepted the blame for what he called his “gross mistake” that helped give Celta hope. “We didn’t do what we needed to all game, and at the end they made us pay,” Koundé said. “It starts with me. I can’t lose my focus like that. It was a gross mistake that can’t happen. I accept that it was my fault.” The late rally by Celta came after Raphinha had led Barcelona as he filled in for Yamal on the right side of the front three. Raphinha opened the scoring in the 15th when he ran onto a long pass by Koundé that bounced over left back Óscar Mingueza, cut back to his left foot and fired home. Lewandowski doubled the lead in the 61st after Raphinha intercepted a pass by Minqueza and set up his strike partner. The Poland striker scrambled the ball past two defenders before slotting beyond Vicente Guaita. Lewandowski took his league-leading tally to 15 goals in 14 rounds, while Raphinha has added eight league goals. Raphinha came close to a second goal that would have made it 3-0 when he hit the post in the 77th, just moments before the wild final stretch when it all crumbled for the visitors. “We have to learn from this. This can’t happen just because we had a player sent off. But onto the next game,” said Gavi Páez, who started his first match since returning from a serious leg injury last season. Antoine Griezmann converted a late penalty to equalize and Alexander Sorloth struck an 86th-minute winner to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win at home over Alaves. The comeback victory lifted Atletico into second place — five points behind Barcelona. Coach Diego Simeone showed his sensitive side after the match when he choked up when speaking about this love for the team he has coached for nearly 13 years. Valencia played its first home game since last month’s devastating floods that killed over 200 people in eastern Spain. The club honored the victims before kickoff when several fans were seen to cry during the ceremony. Hugo Duro led the 4-2 win over Real Betis by scoring a double. Girona routed Espanyol 4-1 in a Catalan regional derby with Bojan Miovski’s first two goals since joining the club. Mallorca forward Johan Mojica scored off a set piece from a free kick inside Las Palmas' area to complete a 3-2 win for the visitors in injury time. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerDalits in T.N. will support the BJP in 2026 elections, says Annamalai